A deafening winter ahead for whales and other marine mammals

Excruciating noises are in store this winter for whales and many other marine mammals that happen to be in the vicinity of increasingly intensive U.S. Navy exercises off the coasts of Hawaii and California. Read related article.

U.S. Navy testing areasare home to 39 marine mammal species and five sea turtle species.U.S. Navy exercises: 2013-2018 500,000hours of sonar testing (Mid-level sonar is as loud as 2,000 jet engines.) 260,000bombs, missiles, mines and other explosives (One 10-pound bomb killed four dolphins in 2011.) Estimated damage to marine mammals*155deaths of whales, dolphins, seals2,000permanent injuries9,600,000 incidences of temporary hearing loss and disruption of vital behaviors, such as migration, feeding and nursing.*Analysis by National Marine Fisheries ServiceAfter a summer of feeding in the nutrient-rich waters of the North Pacific Ocean, blue whales and similar species depart for the warmer waters of Hawaii and Southern California, where they give birth.